Nguyễn Xuân Son in an aerial challenge against a Singaporean defender. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

Anh Đức

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam national football team returned to Mỹ Đình National Stadium for the first time in two years, but Kim Sang-sik's men could not find a win, even after 22 shots were made.

On a hot streak after a 7-0 victory against Timor-Leste, no changes were made by coach Kim to the line-up. Despite heavy rain falling in Hà Nội before the match, 31,569 fans turned up to see the Golden Star Warriors playing on the new and improved grass surface at Mỹ Đình, which had undergone renovations after pitch quality was criticised.

Việt Nam started slowly compared to the match against Timor-Leste, but began to assert their dominance after ten minutes. The first golden chance came the way of Nguyễn Đình Bắc in the 18th minute, who was free and elected to fire a hasty volley despite having the space and time to either control the ball well or pull off an easy header.

Bắc, who scored a hat trick in the first match, fired five shots, but none could pass the Singaporean defence. Later, when Trương Tiến Anh's curled shot forced Izwan Mahbud to parry the ball away, the rebound found Bắc, who skied it and another opportunity went to waste.

In the 27th minute, Nguyễn Thành Chung's header was millimetres wide, leaving coach Kim knelt down in disappointment. An early change was made by the Korean as Đình Bắc was subbed off for Nguyễn Tài Lộc right in the first half.

With three naturalised players all on the field, the pressure was increased in the second half. Chances came for both Nuyễn Xuân Son and Đỗ Hoàng Hên, but none of them could capitalise.

In a match where the Lions defended bravely, they even created chances that left the Vietnamese fans in Mỹ Đình gasping for air. In the 77th minute, from a free kick by Kyoga Nakamura, Jacob Mahler fired a one-touch shot but Lê Giang Patrik pulled off a last-second save, which rebounded to Shawal Anuar, whose header went over the bar. Statistics shown that Mahler's shot has a 91 per cent chance of success, and Lê Giang have saved a tournament for Việt Nam.

As both teams failed to find the net, the match ended 0-0, a result that granted Singapore's first place in Group A with two wins and a draw.

Việt Nam on the other hand, have found out the hard way that the road to defend their title is event tougher than they have imagined. Their next match against Indonesia on August 3 is perhaps a do-or-die: a loss against the Garudas would mean a greater chance of elimination. — VNS